B"H

Wednesday, Elul 18 5782 / September 14, 2022

This Shabbat we read Parshat Ki Tavo.   The Parsha begins with the mitzvah of "Bikurim" – bringing the first ripened fruits to the holy Temple in Jerusalem and offering them to the Kohen (priest).  Bikurim is an offering of thanks to G-d for all His blessings.

Once in Jerusalem, the basket of fruit was given to the Kohen (priest).  The person who brought it would thank G-d for all the miracles which G-d has done for the Jewish people, and for bringing us, "to this place and giving us this land, a land that flows with milk and honey."

The Torah concludes the mitzvah of Bikurim as follows, "And you shall rejoice in all the good which the L-rd your G-d has given you and to your household."

Since we don’t have the Temple, the mitzvah of Bikurim does not apply today.  However, its lesson is everlasting.  It teaches us that before we enjoy the bounty and blessings which G-d gives us, we must show gratitude for His kindness, by first giving a fair share to Tzedakah (charity) and providing for the poor and needy.

“Everything G-d does is for the good,” say our sages, yet, many times G-d's actions don't reveal that good.  In situations like these one has to believe and trust in G-d that everything is for the ultimate good. Our rabbis give the following parable to teach us that somethings are better left to faith than to ask for answers.

A wealthy landowner, who was making a party for his many friends, decided to have a special garment made.  He bought the most expensive material and hired a master tailor and gave him the cloth to make the garment.  The tailor put all his effort in producing a most special garment.  When the wealthy man appeared at the party, everyone was astonished and praised the beauty and craftsmanship of the garment.

However, one person was jealous of the praise heaped on the tailor.  He accused the tailor of stealing some of the very expensive cloth.  The wealthy man was furious.  He called the tailor and said, "The cloth I gave you was four meters long, but when I measured the garment, I found it to be shorter than three meters."

The tailor told him that the accusation was wrong, "Every bit of the material you gave me is in the garment."  He went on to explain to him how the extra material was needed for the many pleats, folds and overlaps which make up the beauty of the suit.  But, the wealthy man, didn't accept the explanations.  "I want the unused cloth back!"

Seeing that all his explanations didn't make an impression on the landowner, the tailor asked for the garment.  He then began removing the threads and taking apart the seams. 

"What are you doing," cried the man.  "You're ruining my most precious suit!"

"With your stubbornness," replied the tailor, "the only way to satisfy you is to take apart the garment and bring it back to its original form.  Now you will measure it and see that I was right.  This is the price you must pay for your lack of faith in me!"

Today, the 18^th of Elul is the birthday of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement. It is also the birthday of Rabbi Schneur Zalmen, founder of Chabad Chasiddic branch.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA

B"H

Thursday, Elul 19 5782 / September 15, 2022

This week's Parsha, Ki Tavo, begins with the mitzvah of "Bikurim" - bringing the first fruits to Jerusalem to, “leave it before G-d your G-d."  Bikurim was given as a gift to the Kohen (Priest) who performs the duties in the Holy Temple.

When presenting the Bikurim to the Kohen, the person bringing it would praise and thank G-d for all the miracles which He performed for the Jewish people. He concluded, "And now I have brought the first fruits of the land which You have given me..."

Giving the Bikurim to the Kohen expressed the giver's thanks to G-d for the good that he received.  Bikurim, as well as giving charity, demonstrates that whatever we possess is due to G-d's generosity.

In the Selichot service, which we recite in preparation for Rosh Hashana (New Year), we pray that G-d bless us with a good year. We don't ask for this as a result of our good deeds, rather we say, "We come before You without good deeds; as poor and indigent we knock on your door [for charity]."

Q.  Why do we ask G-d to grant us our needs as a charitable act not as reward for our good deeds?

A.   The Magid of Dubna explains it with the following parable: A poor man desperately needed a coat for the winter months. He went from door to door collecting money until he could afford one. He then went, together with his son, to the store to buy the coat.

After choosing a coat, he told the store owner his dire situation of poverty and begged the owner to give him the coat for free.  The kindhearted store owner pitied him and agreed.  However, after he took the coat, he gave the owner the money he collected, thanked him, and left.

His son was puzzled, "Father," he asked, "if you intended all along to pay the merchant for the coat, why did you ask him to give it to you without charge?"

The father replied, "My son, I never intended to take the coat for free.  However, I was afraid that the money I collected was not enough to pay for the coat, so I asked him to be kind and give it to me for free.  Once he agreed to this, any amount of money which I offered him would be acceptable and he would be very happy, even if it wasn't the full price of the coat."

"The same is with us," explained the Magid.  "Can we honestly come before G-d and say that we have done enough mitzvot to warrant His kindness in return for what we have accomplished? 

Therefore, we ask for G-d's mercy and kindness, saying, "We come before You without good deeds; as poor and indigent we knock on your door [for charity]."  Only after G-d accepts our plea to grant us what we need as a result of His generosity, can our good deeds and mitzvot, which we performed during the year, even if they are modest, carry the added value to bring us blessings in the New Year.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA

B"H

Friday, Elul 20, 5782 / September 16, 2022

The Torah reading for this Shabbat is Parshat Ki Tavo. After Shabbat there will be only four Parshiot left to the conclusion of the Torah. We are now less than two weeks from the holiday of Rosh Hashana, which will usher in the Hebrew year, 5783.

Q.  The prayerbook we use all year for the daily and Shabbat prayers is called, “Siddur.”   Why is the one we use for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur called, “Machzor.”?

A.    “Machzor” means “cycle.” It is not for daily use as the Siddur, only on certain days (cycles).

Q.  Why is it customary to eat an apple dipped in honey on the first night of Rosh Hashana?

A.  The Torah relates that when Yitzchak (Isaac) gave his blessings to his son, Yaakov (Jacob), Yitzchak exclaimed, "The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the L-rd had blessed."  The Zohar says that this refers to an "apple orchard." Thus, blessings are associated with the apple.  In Scriptures we also find that the people of Israel are compared to an apple. 

The apple and honey we eat on Rosh Hashana is a sign and prayer that G-d will grant us, for the New Year, all the sweet blessings which our forefather Yitzchak blessed Yaakov and his descendants - the Jewish people.

Q. Why can’t the first day Rosh Hashana be on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday.

A.   When the Hebrew calendar was set up, two thousand years ago, the sages made sure that the fast day of Yom Kippur shall never come on a Friday or Sunday.  Their reason was, because the prohibition of work on Yom Kippur is the same as on Shabbat. Cooking and many other food preparations are prohibited, thus it would be very difficult and maybe even dangerous for many people, especially the poor, if they couldn’t get their food staples for two days in a row. 

Yom Kippur is ten days after Rosh Hashana. If Rosh Hashana was allowed to be on Wednesday, then Yom Kippur would fall on Friday; and if Rosh Hashana will come on Friday, then Yom Kippur would be on Sunday. In order to avoid this situation, when Shabbat and Yom Kippur fall one day after the other and people may not have enough food for two days, they made sure that Rosh Hashana shall not be on Wednesday or Friday.   

The reason they didn’t establish Rosh Hashana to be on a Sunday is for another reason. If Rosh Hashana would be on a Sunday, then Hoshana Raba, would have to fall on Shabbat and we would be prohibited to perform the special mitzvah of Aravot. For this, they made sure that Rosh Hashana should not come on Sunday, because then we would not be able to perform this important once-a-year mitzvah.

SHABBAT SHALOM & A HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR

Montreal candle lighting time: 6:45 / Shabbat ends: 7:46